Video Memory

How do you find what your computer's video memory is, and is there a way to change it?

ShEDeViL

Graduate

Posts: 216

3+ Months Ago

Start > Run. Type "dxdiag" then click ok. After it runs, click on the Display tab. It will say "Approx. Total Memory:" on the right side.

I just tried this in Windows XP and it's supposed to work in 95/98/ME.

Gotta love google...

As far as adjusting it, I'm pretty sure that you can, as in letting it use some of your computer's ram, but I'm not sure how.

Rat

Guru

Posts: 1189

Loc: desk

3+ Months Ago

Ok, thanks hun.

beings

Expert

Posts: 539

Loc: Canada

3+ Months Ago

i think theres a way to change the size of the video card ram in the bios... not sure where in the bios but im pritty sure its in there. not all video cards will let you change the amount of ram being used unless it is running off your system ram and not the video cards seperate ram.

LeoZhang

Student

Posts: 80

Loc: China

3+ Months Ago

Rat wrote:

How do you find what your computer's video memory is, and is there a way to change it?

When you start up your computer , the first screen will display the memory size

Nicole

Newbie

Posts: 10

3+ Months Ago

if the first screen doesnt display it, just enter your bios and there you can see it , even you can change your video memory settings ....

LeoZhang

Student

Posts: 80

Loc: China

3+ Months Ago

another way:
start->run->dxdiag
click display , you can see the detail of your vedio

dyefade

Expert

Posts: 712

Loc: UK

3+ Months Ago

I didn't know it would be possible to "change" the video RAM? Surely your card has a certain amount and then when that's used up your regular RAM is used in it's place, and then, when that's used up, virtual memory on your HD? Your video card will be set to use all the RAM it has available, so "changing the amount used" would be redundant.
Of course, I could be (and often am) total wrong...

beings

Expert

Posts: 539

Loc: Canada

3+ Months Ago

no name brand video cards memory can be changed. 2 of my friends can change their memory from 32 to 64 in the bios. But when you do this it uses your system memory. eg you have 512 ram on your computer and you are using this no name type video card it will use part of your ram for video rendering so if you have a no name 32mb video card your system will only show up as having 480mbs of ram.

dyefade

Expert

Posts: 712

Loc: UK

3+ Months Ago

Ah, thank you beings, I see. Would there be any advantage to this though? Rather than just letting the memory spill out onto the RAM of it's own accord?
Might have to go read about it... this would be useful when using a laptop, since on most you can upgrade and add in loads of RAM, but not upgrade the graphics card.

LeoZhang

Student

Posts: 80

Loc: China

3+ Months Ago

4 years ago, there were some cards can be added memory. but the video memory is so expensive...

beings

Expert

Posts: 539

Loc: Canada

3+ Months Ago

you dont physicaly add the ram dude. with your no name video card you divert your system ram to run as video ram. Therefore your system will show up as having less memory and your video card will have more. The disadvange of adding more ram to your laptop video card is simply that your system ram will be lowered... thats all. There is a limit to how much you can increase the ram on your video card, it may not even let you change it, it does not harm your computer in any way if it lets you change the video card ram like this. my friend can change his video card ram from 32 to 64 in the bios, he has a pull down that shows 2 settings for his video card ram, there are 2 choices for him 32 or 64. If you want all your system ram i suggest you buy a name brand video card because they use there own memory. With name brand video cards like ATI, Ge force etc you cannot increase the ram because they run off there own built in ram so it doesnt take away from your system ram.

dyefade

Expert

Posts: 712

Loc: UK

3+ Months Ago

beings wrote:

you dont physicaly add the ram dude.

lol... yeah I know that. What I meant was that with laptops (which I am looking to buy), you can almost always add more RAM, but upgrading video card is never an option. If then, you were to add more RAM, then you could effectively upgrade your video card without changing it physically...

From the choices I've made about getting a laptop however, it seems like it's better to start off with an actual video card. I'm never going to need (famous last words...) more than 64mb on a graphics card anyway!

beings

Expert

Posts: 539

Loc: Canada

3+ Months Ago

well there are laptop ATI cards that are pritty good.

lioness

Mastermind

Posts: 1615

3+ Months Ago

beings wrote:

well there are laptop ATI cards that are pritty good.

I have an ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP, giving me 128MB video memory on my laptop. I think with laptops you cannot exchange/replace the video cards as they are soldered onto the motherboard. (Thats why I went for the 128 MB option - by the way it's awesome!).

PCs however can be physically changed/upgraded.

beings

Expert

Posts: 539

Loc: Canada

3+ Months Ago

yeah good idea

Raiden

Born

Posts: 1

3+ Months Ago

So you guys are smart and all and id like a little beter walkthrough on switchiong ram to video memory, cause the laptop i am getting only has 32 mb on video memory but 512mb Ram so im willing to sacrifice the 32 mb if i can, o i have a few questions.

1. Will it work on my Integrated (no name) gateway video card dealie?

2. What is bios and how do i get to it?

3. What do i do from there?

Thanks a ton in advance!

beings

Expert

Posts: 539

Loc: Canada

3+ Months Ago

Raiden unfortunatly you cannot increase your video memory. If you could you would register as having a strange amount of ram. Its sounds like your video card is running off its own ram. The video cards that you can change ram use your system ram and have no internal ram in the card so your ram will show up as 480mbs because your video card would be using 32 of your total 512mbs of ram. Just to be sure go into Start/control panel/system if your computer registers as having 512 ram then you cannot increase the video memory size because your video card is using its own built in ram.

It is not a bad thing to have a card with built in ram. The cards that use your system ram are realy crappy and take away your system ram so it is better to have a card that has internal ram over a card that doesnt. The cards that you can change ram in the bios are kinda rare and i only have one friend who can do it from 32mb to 64mbs.

Your BIOS is a basic diagnostic and preference tool. It is accessed usualy by pressing "delete" when your computer is starting up and you see a bunch of text and number during start up. Inside your bios you can change how hardware works and how your CPU is running etc. If you do not have any knowledge of exactly what you are doing in your bios then i suggest you do not touch it! There are settings that could cause your computer to stop working or even completely destroy your computer.

DarkSoulEdge

Newbie

Posts: 5

3+ Months Ago

If Raiden has a graphics card that is either AGP, PCI, or PCI Express, then he can't alter it video ram. All he can do is go purchase a new video card with more video ram.

As for integrated graphics like intel -__- (they suck >_>...) you can change the video ram through the bios. It will give you options to change it to a higher value. But as it has been stated before.... it will use system memory (RAM). So let's say your computer has 1GB of memory, and you were to have your video ram use half of that. Your system will now have 500mb for video and 500mb for your computer.

And that's why integrated video sucks hardcore ass -.-. I recommend getting a Graphics Adapter (Graphics Card) that is either AGP, PCI, or PCI Express capable. That way it will run off it's own Video RAM not your Systems'.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, I most likely will be able to resolve it =).

iab

Born

Posts: 1

3+ Months Ago

There would be an advantage to giving ram to the video card, because an operating system will only use so much, even if the hardware supports more (such as using 32 bit windows, and the hardware supports 8gb ram) you would be able to give the other 4gb of ram that the OS isn't able to use to the video card, for it to use as it pleases.